Hosiery protector



April 14,1942. L. J. FINNAN, JR I 2,279,453

' HOSIERY PROTECTOR Filed Feb. 14, 1941 Patented Apr. 14, 1942 HOSIERY PROTECTOR Lawrence J. Finnan, In, New Castle County, Del.,

assignor of one-half to Ernest M. Symmes, Wilmington, Del.

Application February 14, 1941, Serial No. 378L879 2- Claims This invention relates to new and useful immovements in; shoes generally, and more particularly to a hose protector adapted to fasten to the outside of the toe of an open-toe shoe to protect the hosiery normally exposed through the open toe of the shoe.

The main object of myinvention is to provide a removable cap, acting as a hosiery protector, which may be easily and conveniently fitted over the exterior of the toe of open-toe shoes in wet or inclement weather.

Open-toe shoes at present suffer from the disadvantage that the exposed or open toe allows mud, dirt, or Water to come in contact with the exposed hosiery in inclement weather, thus marring or spoiling, temporarily or permanently-the appearance of the exposed hosiery of the toe, due largely to the fact that, in normal walking, mud and water tend to concentrate at the toe of the shoe. An overshoe or arctic would prevent this, but often such outer coverings are not at hand in sudden changes of weather, and are not of a nature to be carried constantly. On the contrary, the hosiery protector according to my invention is adapted to be carried constantly in the usual purse and is also adapted to be fitted over the toe of the shoe whenever desired.'

In my pending application, Serial Number 284,303, filed July 13, 1939, I have described and claimed a hosiery protector for open-toe shoes, which consists of an inner slipper of transparent,

flexible material, but in warm climates or on hot days this suffers from the disadvantage of too great warmth and lack of ventilation. Hosiery protectors according to my present invention avoid this difficulty and, at the same time, have the added advantage that they can be readily and easily applied to the toe of the shoe from the outside of the shoe whenever desired.

Many modifications of my invention are posslble. For example, my hosiery protector may be in the form of a toe cap of transparent material,

the shoe, and it may be suitably decorated or plain. Also, my improved hosiery protector may be attached to the shoe in a variety of ways, of which I illustrate two, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Further to illustrate my invention, reference is hereby made to the accompanying drawing, in

which Figure 1 represents the open-toe shoe now.

in vogue and to which my hosiery protector is to be attached, Figure 2 represents a top view of one form of my hosiery protector, Figure 3 a side view of another form of my hosiery protector, and Figure 4 an open-toe shoe with the hosiery protector of Figure 3 in place on the shoe.

Figure 1 needs no further, detailed explanation. In Figure 2, i represents a rigid or flexible 1 cap, adapted to fit over the toe of the shoe of Figure 1, to which cap is firmly attached a wire bow 2, curved so as to be adapted to attach by a spring fit the sole of the shoe of Figure 1. When attached to the shoe of Figure 1, spring bows 2 hold the hosiery protector of Figure 2 firmly in place on the toe of the shoe, although the hosiery protector can be readily removed from the shoe whenever desired.

Another form of my invention is shown in Figure 3, in which 3 represents a hosiery protector of rigid, self-supporting material, such as thick Celluloid, thick cellulose acetate, cellulose aceto-butyrate, cellulose acetopropionate, and the like, either transparent and colorless, or colored, or opaque, although I prefer not to use Celluloid on account of its flammable nature, or of leather or shoe fabric, stiffened, of the same general nature as the heel or toe of an ordinary shoe, or the like, with an inwardly-projecting rim 4, adapted to fit into the groove between the sole and the upper of the shoe of Figure 1, and Srepresents an extension or tongue of the same material as 3, but thinner and moreflexible, and adapted to fold under the vamp of the shoe and be there retained by the pressure of the foot against the vamp of the shoe. Figure 4 represents the shoe of Figure 1 with the hosiery protector of Figure 3 in position on the shoe.

I do not limit myself to the exact form or construction shown in the drawing, which is given byway of illustration and not limitation, but I may suitably alter the form and construction of my hosiery protector adapted to protect hosiery at the toe of an open-toe shoe, withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. An ornamental hosiery protector for open material extending up to and under the top of the vamp of the shoe.

LAWRENCE J. FINNAN, JR. 

